Uttarakhandi Language :

Uttarakhandi Language Languages Spoken: Uttarakhand Divided Two Parts first part Kumaun and second Part Gadwall two part two language Kumauni and Gadwalli language is very simple of Uttrakhand (Kumauni, Garhwali, Hindi )

Famous Temple of Uttarakhand:

Famous Temple of Uttarakhand Deer Park: 3 kms from Almora is the deer park. Catarrhal: This 800-year old Sun Temple is the next in significance after the Sun Temple of Konark in Orissa. Seven kms away from Almora, this historical important temple is an excellent example of intricate sculpturing. Nanda Devi Temple: This 1000-year old temple is one of the main attractions of Almora. Its known for its famous wall carvings. Each year a festival is held here in which youth from various hilly areas participate in dance festivals. Kasar Devi: Near Kali mutt is the temple of Kasar Devi. This ancient temple was built in the second century on a mountain peak. The distance between Kali matt and Kasar Devi is less than 1 km and can be easily covered by foot. The neighboring area has turned out to be the home of many foreigners. The main town is 6 km away.

Kedarnath Temple:

Kedarnath Temple Kēdārnāth Mandir (Kedarnath Temple) is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to the god Shiva and is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. Due to extreme weather conditions, the temple is open only between the end of April (Akshay trutya) to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon, usually November) every year. During the winters, the vigrahas (deities) from Kedarnath temple are brought to Ukhimath and worshipped there for six months. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Kedarnath, the 'Lord of Kedar Khand', the historical name of the region . The temple is not directly accessible by road and has to be reached by a 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) uphill trek from Gaurikund. Pony and manchan service is also available. The temple is believed to have been built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Sankaracharya and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest Hindu shrines of Shiva.. The temple is also one of the four major sites in India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage of Northern Himalayas. Kedarnath was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in North India. The temple complex, surrounding areas and Kedarnath town suffered extensive damage, but the temple remained unharmed to a large extent.

National park in Uttarakhand :

National park in Uttarakhand Corbet National Park Nanda Devi National Park Valley of flowers National Park Rajaji National Park Govind Pashu vihar Gangotri National Park

PowerPoint Presentation:

Uttarakhand Disaster ( June 2013)

Floods And Landslides:

Floods And Landslides In June 2013, the North Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, some regions of Western Nepal and their adjoining areas experienced heavy rainfall that triggered cloud burst causing devastating floods and landslides. Parts of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and some parts of Western Tibet also experienced heavy rainfall. As of 15 July 2013, according to the figures provided by the Uttarakhand Government's, 5,748 people have presumed dead including 926 regional people. Damage to bridges and roads left over 70,000 pilgrims and tourists trapped in various places, many of whom were rescued . As of 30 June 2013, about 300 - 400 people are said to be still stranded. The Indian Air Force, the Army and paramilitary troops have evacuated more than 110,000 people from the flood hit area. Although Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker, based on various ground reports said that the death toll could cross 10,000, the official death toll in Uttarakhand (by 29 June 2013) was 842.

Origin :

Origin From 14 to 17 June 2013, the Indian state of Uttarakhand and adjoining area received heavy rainfall, which was about 375 percent more than the benchmark rainfall during a normal monsoon. This caused the melting of Chorabari Glacier at the height of 3800 metres, and eruption of the Mandakini River [ which led to heavy floods near Gobindghat ,Kedar Dome Rudrapraya district, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Western Nepal, and acute rainfall in other nearby regions of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Tibet. The upper Himalayan territories of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are full of forests and snow-covered mountains and thus remain relatively inaccessible. They are home to several major and historic Hindu and Sikh pilgrimage sites besides several tourist spots and trekking trails. Heavy rainfall for four consecutive days as well as melting snow aggravated the floods . Warnings by the India Meteorological Department predicting heavy rains were not given wide publicity beforehand, causing thousands of people to be caught unawares, resulting in huge loss of life and property.

Death and Damage:

Death and Damage Landslides, due to the floods, damaged several houses and structures, killing those who were trapped. The heavy rains resulted in large flashfloods and massive landslides. Entire villages and settlements such as Gaurikund and the market town of Ram Bada, a transition point to Kedarnath, have been obliterated, while the market town of Sonprayag suffered heavy damage and loss of lives. Pilgrimage centres in the region, including Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the hallowed Hindu Chardham (four sites) pilgrimage centers, are visited by thousands of devotees, especially after the month of May onwards. Over 70,000 people were stuck in various regions because of damaged or blocked roads. Because summers have more number of tourists, the number of people impacted is substantial. For more than three days, stranded pilgrims and tourists were without rations or survived on little food . The roads were seriously damaged at more than 450 places, resulting in huge traffic jams, and the floods caused many cars and other vehicles to be washed away. On June 18, more than 12,000 pilgrims were stuck at Badrinath, the popular pilgrimage center located on the banks of the Alaknanda River. As of 29 June 2013, the official death toll in Uttarakhand, based on the collected bodies of the victims, had crossed 850.

Damage at Kedarnath town:

Damage at Kedarnath town Although the Kedarnath Temple itself had not been damaged, its base was inundated with water, mud and boulders from the landslide, damaging its perimeter. Many hotels, rest houses and shops around the temple in Kedarnath township were destroyed, resulting in several casualties. Most of the destruction at Kedarnath was caused by a sudden rapid melting of ice and snow on the Kedarnath Mountain, 6 km (3.7 mi) from the temple, which flooded the Charbari lake (upstream) and then Kedarnath. Temple was flooded with water resulting in several deaths due to drowning and panic-driven stampede. The Uttarakhand Government announced that due to the extensive damage to the infrastructure, the temple will be temporarily closed to regular pilgrims and tourists for a year or two, but the temple rituals will still be maintained by priests. Even after a week, dead bodies were not lifted from Kedarnath town, resulting in contamination of water in Kedarnath valley and villagers who depend on spring water suffered various types of health problems like fever, diarrhoea. When flood receded, satellite images showed one new stream at Kedarnath town.

Path of flash flood reaching to Kedarnath Temple Valley:

Path of flash flood reaching to Kedarnath Temple Valley

Kedarnath temple before and after the Uttarakhand floods :

Kedarnath temple before and after the Uttarakhand floods

Other affected regions:

Other affected regions National Capital Region Delhi ,Gurgaon and surrounding areas received a high amount of rainfall on 16 June 2013, leading to flooding of the low lying areas of the cities. The Yamuna River swelled to a new high of 207.75 meters submerging the low lying flood plains along the banks. Uttar Pradesh 608 villages, covering a population of 7 lakhs, in 23 districts of Uttar Pradesh were affected with flood and As of 11 July 2013 more than 120 deaths were reported from the state. Himachal Pradesh In Himachal Pradesh, floods caused loss of life and property and death toll in the state was 20. Nepal About 6000 citizens of Nepal were visiting the Indian region, of which 1,000 were rescued as of June 22, 2013. Flooding of the Dhauliganga and the Mahakali rivers had caused extensive damage, with reports of 128 houses and 13 government offices swept away and over 1000 people homeless . it was a very devastating flood . A bridge that joins the India-Nepal border is highly damaged.

Flood hit areas in Uttrakhand:

Flood hit areas in Uttrakhand

Mitigation measures taken for Uttrakhand:

Mitigation measures taken for Uttrakhand At present Disaster Mitigation & Management Centre is working as autonomous institute under aegis of Department of Disaster Management Government of Uttarakhand and Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre(DMMC)is the apex center in the field of Disaster Mitigation & Management in Uttarakhand, to protection of the community and the environment from the over whelming obliteration caused by disasters. DMMC, located in the Uttarakhand secretariat compound, is to generate the sense of worth amongst common people and the government authorities in formulating appropriate policies and strengthening their capabilities to cope up with all aspects of disaster management.